A full day of festive family fun is planned for the city centre on Saturday November 19, where pipe bands, dancers and panto performers will entertain visitors, while Santa Claus himself will be there to get pictures with the kids.
The parade will precede the switch-on of Stirling’s new and improved Christmas lighting, which has received a major overhaul thanks to a combined investment of over £105,000 from Stirling Council and Go Forth Stirling BID.
The city centre festivities will get underway from 1pm with the parade itself stepping off from Baker Street before making its way along Friars Street and Murray Place before finishing on King Street where Santa will use the magic of Christmas to turn on the city’s lights.
A rolling road closure will be in place along Baker Street from 3pm with signage in place.
The parade is free to attend, however, attendees are required to register via Eventbrite ahead of time.
Wonderful for families
Cllr Margaret Brisley, Convener for Stirling Council’s Finance, Economy and Corporate Support Committee said: “After a dark couple of years with the pandemic, it’ll be wonderful to see the city centre filled with families getting into the Christmas spirit with Stirling bright and beaming with new lights this festive season.
“I’m positive that this event will be a huge success with children, families and local businesses and I can’t think of a more fitting way to debut the upgraded festive lighting.
“The designs fit with our special local history and heritage and I also welcome the fact that the new lights are much more energy efficient and will reduce the carbon footprint of the festive lighting.
“It’s a substantial investment from the Council and the BID, which follows on from a series of investments to improve our City Centre. It’ll make a real difference to Stirling’s Festive period for our excellent local businesses, as well as our residents and visitors.”
The upgraded lighting switch-on will cap round off the day, featuring bespoke chandeliers, crowns and wreaths that will illuminate key Stirling streets in a new vision aimed at encapsulating the city’s heritage.
The new lights are also more energy-efficient and will enable the Council and Go Forth to reduce the energy consumption of the annual festive lighting display.
'Capturing the City's Heritage'
Go Forth Stirling Project Director, Danielle McRorie-Smith said: “After some difficult festive seasons over the last two years, I’m delighted that we’ll be able to welcome visitors back into the city centre to mark the beginning of the Christmas period. The added glitz of new festive lighting will have Stirling looking the part as we hope to get everybody into the festive spirit.
“The new lighting displays will create a vibrant fresh look for Stirling as we approach the festive season and get ready to celebrate the city and all its fantastic shops, restaurants, pubs, cafes and other venues.
“This investment of more than £100,000 is significant and will benefit our businesses, residents and visitors.
“The vision was to capture the city’s heritage and reflect how its key streets looked in years gone-by with traditional Christmas lighting. We hope the innovative, bespoke designs will give everyone a lift and encourage people into the city centre to support local businesses and meet up with family and friends.”
